Using indigenous terrestrial micro-invertebrates to assess environmental impacts of soil pollution in Antarctica
Past waste disposal practices and current human activities in Antarctica have resulted in a number of contaminated and biologically degraded sites. To assess, mitigate and remediate these sites an understanding of how native organisms respond to contamination is required. Terrestrial micro-invertebrates play key roles in ecosystem processes (e.g. nutrient cycling) but little is known about the response of Antarctic species to pollutants. This project will assess the responses of key micro-invertebrates from East Antarctica (e.g. rotifers, tardigrades) to hydrocarbon and metal pollution in soils. It is the first Antarctic project to assess the impact of freeze-thaw cycles in soils on contaminant toxicity to Antarctic biota, and complements ongoing research at the Australian Antarctic Division on the effectiveness of using Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon analysis to measure toxicity.
Timeframe: 2017-2022
Project leads: Assoc. Prof. Suzie Reichman (University of Melbourne), Dr Catherine King (Australian Antarctic Division), Dr Graeme Allinson (RMIT University), Assoc. Prof Uffe Nielsen (Western Sydney University) and Mr Tim Spedding (Australian Antarctic Division)
Collaborators: Australian Antarctic Division, RMIT University, Western Sydney University
Research students: Jordan McCarthy (PhD), Stephanie Wallace-Polley (PhD), Katie Plaisted (MSc (BioSciences)
Funding / sponsors: Australian Antarctic Science, grant #4450
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Links & Resources
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Shirtloads of Science Podcast #18 (Apr 2019)
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Radio Marinara (Nov 2020) |
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